Championship matches have made history. To celebrate, with season 6 beginning on March 2, a woman has won each season before, and the runner-up is also a woman.
Brooke Williamson is the first game of the 2020 champions and she is the runner-up in Season 2 and Season 3.
She is exactly the type that chef Guy Fieri wants to play in this game because outside of top chefs, she is not well known. This game took her place.
For those who don’t know, the show matches various cooking chefs who use “Randomizer” to cook with ingredients and equipment.
They show their food with blind evaluations, and only a culinary expert can show their food. This ensures there is no bias, which may help the female chef win.
Recently, we talked with Williamson, including cooking with random people, why so many women win and the transition to the trial.
Hi Brooke. I’m a big fan. You are the first winner of the championship, not very much. Are you surprised by your victory and how this changed your career?
I’m not well known on the Food Network yet, but I’ve played a few games, including a few seasons on Top Chefs. This opens up things for new audiences, because many viewers don’t know me yet, but I keep winning the battle.
This changed my career, opening several new avenues on the Food Network. I have to prove to myself and others that I deserve to win, and I think I succeeded.
How do you balance cooking of random compounds with blind judgments of unknowns?
I never cook for judges and always focus on ingredients and what I can make with them. That’s how I always cook it. I usually try to make a game plan for cooking. Sometimes, when random compound ingredients are announced, you have to adjust these plans.
Let’s discuss with the machine. How do you plan your thinking process with such strange ingredients and you feel like you are competing with a roster machine or competitor?
Again, I always focus on ingredients and competitors. It keeps me in better headspace and focuses on my dishes. I’ve been cooking for a long time, so I’ve used all kinds of ingredients and equipment, but that doesn’t mean they can work together.
What is the weirdest random ingredient?
Oh, it’s hard because they’re all weird. But I think the hardest thing is in season 3 against Tiffani Faisan. We had to use Natto, a fermented Japanese soybean. I used to cook with Natto before, but Morimoto was judging that he loved Natto, so I got nervous.
You’ve participated in several other shows, especially since Season 1 of the Championship. Do you think your previous experiences on the show and cooking on Bobby’s Triple Thraint helped in the subsequent seasons?
Any experience I gained helped me in other competitions. I’ve learned how to cook under pressure with many ingredients.
Judgment other matches have told me that you are your own match and only control how you cook the ingredients.
It’s impressive that women win every season. Do you think blind judgment has affected the results?
I can’t say why. There is no evidence that this occurs due to blind judgment. I think women are great multitaskers, as this game shows. Being able to multitask is an important feature in the championship tournament.
As a grand generalization, women are appointed to multitasking, probably more than men. However, this is just an opinion.
The panelists have always been a mixture of men and women among judges.
It’s always fair. I don’t think there is any preference. This is actually a blind judgment. Therefore, judges never know who they are judging or what gender they are. I don’t know if this is not yet, but I can’t say it.
I think it’s a lovely display of women in high-level cooking that you don’t see often, so everyone will notice.
Do you have a reason to decide not to participate in this year’s competition, but to judge, or to decide together with all the winners?
We all have the option of a competition or a judge. I feel like I’ve done a few hard processes. I’ve proven myself capable and I don’t feel like I need to demonstrate the same thing over and over again.
I also regularly compete and enjoy it. So I still have that socket and I do love it, but I feel like I’ve done everything I need to do on that particular stage.
In the Season 6 Championship Championship, you join the judges’ panel. What did you learn from previous seasons to hire in the review form?
I have a little grace when judging others. I know how difficult this is.
I’ve been blown away every time, too, because contestants can be so creative and quickly create thoughtful dishes using the ingredients and tools that just threw them. I see. My sympathy for this situation is much more than some.
When was your first episode as a judge?
I only judge the end of this season. Some personal things have come up and I plan to judge the previous few episodes, but I can’t do it. So, I only finished the ending.
Last season, Kevin Lee beat you in the first round, showing once again that the weak can pass without the former winner. What are your predictions?
Well, after judging the ending, I do know the result.
I know, I know you can’t say that. I’m just curious.
Always a game for anyone. You have to have a certain amount of talent and perseverance to participate in this game. It was a tough game. However, random compounds and blind judgments can make predictions at any level from either round. And we’ve seen something crazy happen.
What do you want to say to your competitors?
So much, but remember to have fun because it’s a stressful competition.
You’re in the barbecue struggle. Are you running or judging again?
I am a judge, just like in the past. I want to have a lot of barbecue.
I heard you have a recipe now.
Yes, this is called Shenwu’s cooking. This is a vegetable recipe published in November.
What is your favorite dish in the book you want people to try?
I want people to try all of this. This is a very seasonal recipe, so I have some favorites depending on the season. I love okra dishes, and I think it’s a hidden gem of ingredients that people don’t stand out enough.
There are some beautiful spring and summer dishes as well as the whole tomato stamp. There were some pleasant corn vegetables. In these chapters, you can make them using these ingredients at any time of the year. So, this is an interesting book.
The Championship will air 8/7C on the Food Network on Sunday and will be available the biggest the next day.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Online Championship
TV Fanatic is looking for enthusiastic writers to share their voices in various essay genres. What do you think you have a TV fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.
